Population Health

Globalization: the global marketplace and social determinants of health

by Ted Schrecker

Co-authored with Ronald Labonte; in Improving Equity in Health by
Addressing Social Determinants, edited by
The Commission on Social Determinants of Health Knowledge Networks,
Jennifer H Lee and Ritu Sadana (Geneva: WHO, 2012).  This is the long-awaited compilation of findings from the knowledge networks that supported the work of the WHO Commission.

The Globalization, Gender & Health Project

by Suzanne Sicchia

Maclean, H., Sicchia, S.R., Stewart, M., McGregor, B., Bonder, G., & Randriamaro, Z. (2006). The Globalization Gender & Health Project. In, Moving Population and Public Health Knowledge Translation into Action. CIHR, Institute of Population and Public Health, Canadian Population Health Initiative. (pp.51-54).

The Globalization, Gender and Health Project was a large-scale exercise in international research collaboration.... more The Globalization, Gender and Health Project was a large-scale exercise in international research collaboration. Charged with identifying a set of issues at the intersect of globalization, gender and health for future research and training priorities, the team learnt some important lessons on working in international partnerships.Building trust among a diversity of partners from both the developed and developing world was challenging, as
was finding broad consensus on priority issues. The payoff has been the establishment of lasting knowledge networks, which continue to support the original research agenda.

Characteristics of Longer Consultations In Australian General Practice.

by Carmel Martin

Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review

by Timothy B. Smith

The potential of individual based population models to extrapolate effects measured at standardized test conditions to relevant environmental conditions—an example for 3,4-dichloroaniline on Daphnia magna

by Thomas G. Preuss

PREUSS, T.G.; HAMMERS-WIRTZ, M; RATTE, H.T.
J. Env. Monit. 12: 2070-2079

In current risk assessment ecotoxicological biotests (e.g.Daphnia reproduction test) are used to assess the potential... more In current risk assessment ecotoxicological biotests (e.g.Daphnia reproduction test) are used to assess the potential impact of xenobiotics on ecosystems. The effects of chemicals and pesticides on populations of non-target organisms in the field depend not only on the exposure and the toxicity, but also on other factors such as life history characteristics. The effects of 3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA) measured with standardized test procedures, namely the Daphnia immobilisation test (OECD 202) and Daphnia reproduction test (OECD 211), were extrapolated to the population level using an individual-based Daphnia magna population model (IDamP) integrating only the effects on mortality and reproduction. The application of IDamP to extrapolate the effects on population levels was tested on two different population datasets, differing in the start population as well as in the feeding regime. The simulation results were compared to data derived from population experiments under semi-static and flow-through conditions. The IDamP model with an integrated toxicity module was able to predict the effects of 3,4-DCA on the population level under constant laboratory conditions for both datasets. This modelling approach was used to establish concentration–response relationships for 3,4-DCA on the population level. For this purpose two endpoints, the population capacity and the extinction probability, were calculated for different food levels. It turned out that the concentration–response relationship of the population capacity was less influenced by food supply, whereas for daphnid populations exposed to 3,4-DCA the extinction risk was twice as high with lower (environmental relevant) food supply. For both endpoints the lowest EC50 was calculated to be 25 and 35 µg l−1. The calculation of concentration–effect relationships on the population level by using a modelling approach provides a tool to extrapolate from effects derived from lab experiments to effects on the population level and can improve the ecological risk assessment of chemicals and pesticides.

Additional cases of maxillary canine‐first premolar transposition in several prehistoric skeletal assemblages from the Santa Barbara Channel …

by sebastian wärmländer

Could the Health Decline of Prehistoric California Indians be Related to Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from Natural Bitumen?

by sebastian wärmländer

The presence of medical students in practice consultations. Rates of patient consent

by Marjan Kljakovic

Co-authors: Marjan Kljakovic Chris Parkin
Australian Family Physician, Vol 31, No. 5, 2002, pages 487-489

OBJECTIVE To measure the frequency of nonconsent encountered by medical students and describe the influence of gender.... more OBJECTIVE To measure the frequency of nonconsent encountered by medical students and describe the influence of gender. METHOD An observational study of general practice teaching consultations. RESULTS Subjects: 63 students (40% female), 67 general practitioners (30% female), and 2572 patients (56% female). Outcome: 3.4% of all patients (79% female) did not give consent (4.6% for male students; 1.6% for female; OR=3.0, 95% CI 1.7-5.3). The rates of nonconsent did not vary between age groups for men but occurred mainly in the 15-44 years age group for women. Male students encountered more nonconsenting female patients than female students, particularly in consultations with female GPs. CONCLUSION Consent to allow medical students to be present in general practice consultations is usually provided. It is typically declined for male students by young women attending women doctors.

A Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS)-Based Model of Consanguinity

by Muaz Niazi

Citation:

Noreen Akhtar, Muaz Niazi, Amir Hussain & Farah Mustafa (2011), A Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS)-Based Model of Consanguinity, Elsevier Journal of Theoretical Biology 285(1), 103-112, doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.05.038.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.05.038

Consanguinity or inter-cousin marriage is a phenomenon quite prevalent in certain regions around the globe.... more Consanguinity or inter-cousin marriage is a phenomenon quite prevalent in certain regions around the globe. Consanguineous parents have a higher risk of having offspring with congenital disorders. It is difficult to model large scale consanguineous parental populations because of disparate cultural issues unique to regions and cultures across the globe. Although consanguinity has previously been studied as a social problem, it has not been
modeled from a biological perspective. Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS) is a powerful modeling formalism for the study of intricate details of real-world complex systems. In this paper, we have developed a DEVS model to get an insight into the role of consanguineous marriages in the evolution of congenital disorders in a population. As proof-of-concept, we further developed a consanguinity simulation model in Simio simulation software. Simulation results validated using population growth data show the effectiveness of this approach in the modeling of consanguinity in populations.

Knowledge or Understanding? Informed Choice In the Context of Newborn Bloodspot Screening

by Stuart Nicholls

Public Health Ethics (2010) 3 (2): 128-136

The UK has a long established programme of newborn bloodspot screening. This operates under a model of informed... more The UK has a long established programme of newborn bloodspot screening. This operates under a model of informed choice. Understanding is central to the `informed’ element of an informed choice yet it is rarely assessed. To date most research within the context of newborn bloodspot screening has focussed on parental recall of information. In this paper I argue that simplistic assessments of knowledge through recall fail to reflect more complex notions of understanding. In support of this contention I draw on qualitative interviews with parents of children who have undergone newborn bloodspot screening.

Population policies and education: exploring the contradictions of neo-liberal globalisation

by Catherine Bovill

Framing the biosocial pathways underlying associations between place and cardiometabolic disease

by Spencer Moore

Wild vs. Farmed: Metal Concentration, Biomagnification and Bioaccumulation Trends in the Food Web of Qiandao Hu reservoir, China

by Matthew Ponsford

85-page honours thesis co-authored with Dr. Linda M. Campbell, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Aquatic Ecosystem Health, Department of Biology/Department of Environmental Studies and Dr. Yuxiang Wang, Department of Biology (Queen's University, 2010)

Natural and anthropogenic elemental contamination is widespread in the environment. This is especially true in China,... more Natural and anthropogenic elemental contamination is widespread in the environment. This is especially true in China, a country with rapid industrial and economic growth. Some metals can be toxic at very low concentrations, rapidly accumulating within fish tissues and other organisms. As fish are an important part of the Chinese diet, food web transfer and biomagnification trends of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se and Zn are assessed for fish from a reservoir in eastern China. This study site, with 1,078 islands and prized freshwater fish species, contains 13 families and 86 fish species. Commonly-consumed farmed fish from a range of trophic levels were sampled, including Silurus asotus, Aristichthys nobilis, Ictalurus punctatus, Carassius auratus, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Micropterus salmoides and Hypothalmichthys molitrix. Wild piscivorous fish sampled include Siniperca chuatsi, Erythroculter mongolicus, Erythroculter illishaeformis and Channa argus argus. Our questions for this study are: (1) Are metal accumulation trends and concentrations in wild versus farmed fish species different? (2) Do trends in metal concentration between fish markets in a large city and a fishing town differ? Concentrations of Cd, Co and Pb were below reliable ICP-OES detection limits. As, Cu and Zn concentrations were highest in farmed species, whereas Cr, K, Ni, Rb and Se were highest in wild species. δ15N values were used to estimate trophic position. Results obtained suggest significant biomagnification of Se at successive trophic levels and marginally significant biomagnification trends for Rb. All other relationships between elemental concentration and trophic position indicated a lack of biomagnification. Anthropogenic sources from industrial activities surrounding the reservoir may contribute to elevated Cr and Se in fish, while ambient pH and temperature differentials could play a role in the increased bioavailability of Rb in the region.

The Ethics of Social Risk Reduction in the Era of the Biological Brain

by Ted Schrecker

Co-authored with Lisa Acosta, Margaret Somerville and Harold Bursztajn; published in Social Science and Medicine 52 (2001), pp. 1677-1687.  Please contact Prof. Schrecker for an offprint.

The Power of Money: Global Financial Markets, National Politics, and Social Determinants of Health

by Ted Schrecker

In O. Williams and A. Kay, eds., The Crisis of Global Health Governance: Political Economy, Ideas and Institutions (Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009); to order go to http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=295403.

Beyond the Matrix: Thinking Three-dimensionally about Social Determinants of Health

by Ted Schrecker

Co-authored with Ronald Labonte; in A. Gatti and A. Boggio, eds., Health and Development: Toward a Matrix Approach (Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), pp. 56-78; to order go to http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=270477.

Advancing Health Equity in the Global Marketplace: How Human Rights Can Help

by Ted Schrecker

Co-authored with Audrey R. Chapman, Ronald Labonte and Roberto de Vogli, Social Science & Medicine 71(2010): 1520-1526; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.06.042. Please contact Prof. Schrecker for an offprint of published version.

The WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) ascribed health disparities within and between countries to... more The WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) ascribed health disparities within and between countries to “a toxic combination of poor social policies and programmes, unfair economic arrangements, and bad politics.” This article analyzes the relevance of the international human rights framework (IHRF) to the Commission’s goal of reducing health disparities with reference to both social scientific and legal scholarship. We begin with an overview of the IHRF, demonstrating its potential as a challenge to the normative foundations of the emerging global economic order. We then survey the research literature on mechanisms to ensure accountability for realization of health-related rights, emphasizing the potential effectiveness of making human rights enforceable through the courts, and the special need for mechanisms to hold countries and international institutions accountable for obligations related to the human right to health. We conclude by identifying three key directions for further research, policy and advocacy: comparative human rights litigation, specifically the willingness of courts to address broad policy and budgetary issues; the conditions under which governments legislate or constitutionalize economic and social rights; and how rich, powerful countries affect economic and social rights outside their borders.

Un abordaje radicalmente nuevo para la salud global: Salud para todos

by Ted Schrecker

Co-authored with Françoise Barten and David Woodward; translated from the English and published in F. Barten, M. Rovere y Eduardo Espinoza, compiladores, Salud para todos:una meta posible (San Salvador: Ministerio de Salud, Gobierno de El Salvador, 2010), pp. 211-224.

The Population Revolution: From Population Policies to Reproductive Health and Women's Rights Politics

by Mathieu Caulier

Overcoming exclusion: Current research and legal issues in Canadian immigration policy for people living with HIV

by Laura Bisaillon

HIV/AIDS Policy & Law Review, 15(1), pp. 84-90, 2010.

This article provides summaries of presentations made during the panel, "Overcoming exclusion — current research... more This article provides summaries of presentations made during the panel, "Overcoming exclusion — current research and legal issues in Canadian immigration policy for people living with HIV." Laura Bisaillon presents findings on the activities, actions and practices newcomers undertake as a result of being tested positive for HIV during Canadian immigration medical screening. Michael Battista discusses how to challenge the “excessive demand” barrier for HIV-positive newcomers through case law and advocacy.